Forcing yourself to be productive is tough, but it's not just willpower and self-control that help you to get things done. You can also pull little tricks on your brain to make it work harder, like adjusting the temperature or looking at cute pictures of animals. Here are a few scientifically-backed ways to boost your productivity without even trying.

Today's National Public Radio Talk of the Nation segment discusses how to be a productive…
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[T]he mental trick is to regard other tasks as more important in order to make Very Important Task an easier choice.

Rank projects that seem quite significant yet have more flexible deadlines at the top instead, like reorganizing your workspace or learning a new technique. You'll probably also find that there are newer Very Important Tasks that have joined your list, making that original one look all the more alluring.

Essentially, you're performing a mental trick that makes the task you're dreading less substantial by moving it down on your priority list. When you complete each smaller task, the bigger one seems like less of a pain. Productive procrastination isn't going to work every time, but it's certainly helpful now and again on those days where you're having trouble getting started. Photo by Fabio Bruna.

You're surrounded by all types of triggers. You see a vending machine and your stomach growls; …
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When temperatures were low (68 degrees or 20 degrees Celsius) employees made 44% more mistakes than at optimal room temperature (77 degrees or 25 degrees Celsius).

Essentially, you want to regulate the temperature in your office. That means grabbing a space heater (or air conditioner in the summer), or at least keeping yourself warm with a sweater. It's not just temperature, either. Lighting plays a role in productivity too. While direct research on lighting is still fresh, we do know that more exposure to daylight can imrpove productivity. While we've debunked the myth that getting up early makes you more productive, one big benefit of waking up earlier is that you get more time in the natural light of the sun.

Head over to your neighborhood coffee shop if you want to get that novel finished or make major…
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[This] adds to research suggesting that small doses of distraction—including hard-to-read fonts—prompt the mind to work at a more abstract level, which is also a more creative level. [...]There's a sweet spot between silence and din.

Of course, everyone is a little different, and your results may vary. If you're stuck in the middle of an unproductive day, getting out of the office and into a noisy coffee shop is one way to trick your brain into working a little harder, no willpower required. Photo by dailylifeofmojo.

Dear Lifehacker, I read about why working from a coffee shop can be good for you, but not every…
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Take a Nap

It's not exactly easy to take a nap in the middle of the day, but it turns out a perfectly timed nap boosts your productivity more than you'd think. The best time for a power nap is between 1:00 and 3:00 PM in the afternoon, and you should keep it at about 15 to 20 minutes for maximum benefit.

Music can make work fly by faster and maybe even boost your productivity—but that all depends on…
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[T]he single most important factor to consider when choosing a genre is what kind of music you usually listen to for fun and entertainment when you are not trying to be productive. And then, counter-intuitively, it's best to select the very opposite kind of music.... Why? Because your brain gets pleasure, releasing dopamine when it hears music you like and listen to a lot, and music that is associated with good times or strong memories of any kind will reduce the focus enhancing effects when used as a productivity tool. So if you never listen to classical music, try it for this, and the opposite is true, if you always listen to jazz, then try the ambient channel.

This approach doesn't necessarily work if you're a musician or you listen to music critically, but if you're the type to just throw something on in the background, playing music you don't know might be all you need to concentrate on the task at hand.

Look at Photos of Cute Baby Animals

We'll end with one of the stranger research findings we've seen: looking at cute baby animals can actually improve your concentration and productivity. The study, conducted by Hiroshima University in Japan, found that looking at pleasent and cute images increases concentration. After looking at cute animals, participants in the study increased their performance in concentration tasks by an astounding 44 percent. Researchers were unclear of exactly why the pictures increased concentration, but they have a theory:

Caring for babies (nurturance) not only involves tender treatments but also requires careful attention to the targets' physical and mental states as well as vigilance against possible threats to the targets. If viewing cute things makes the viewer more attentive, the performance of a non-motor perceptual task would also be improved.

While it's by no means a definitive study, it echoes similar theories that temptations like reality TV and cute YouTube videos are beneficial for productivity as well. Next time you're feeling a little zapped of concentration, tune into some adorable animals for a couple minutes and see what happens. Photo by sunsets_for_you.

As with any little brain hack and power-up, overuse of these techniques will likely make them stop working. They're also not a replacement for a good productivity system and an optimized schedule. That said, if you're stuck one day and you can't seem to get things done, a change of location, a break to look at adorable animals, or some new music might be all you need.